Parts of Saline County heavily damaged during severe storms

SALINE COUNTY, IL. (KFVS) - The small community of Mitchellsville in Saline County, Illinois was one of the hardest hit areas during Wednesday’s severe storms.

The Responsible Energy Coal Mine on Route 34 was badly damaged with parts of it being turned into a twisted mess of metal.

Several homes and cars were also damaged and countless trees are down. A tree even fell on resident Jill Tanner’s home but she said she’s just thankful that it wasn’t much worse.

“Very thankful to be alive,” said Tanner. “I’m thankful it’s not as bad as it could be. I’m sure there are a lot of people that are worse off than we are.”

According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, storm survey teams found an EF1 tornado in Saline County. The tornado lasted from 4:13 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The maximum winds were 95 mph with a path length of 7.83 miles and a width of 150 yards. At this time, no injuries or fatalities were reported.